Vindicated
by monotonic
Summary: Listen to me... Rukia whispered inaudibly. Just please, listen... And don't say a thing.


Disclaimer: No, I obviously don't own _Bleach. _If I did, I wouldn't be on writing this, but rather, sipping a strawberry margarita in Tahiti while being fanned by various, skimpily-clad pool boys.

**Author's Note**: M'kay, first _Bleach_ story... most likely I'll screw something up, so wish me luck. I've only seen part of the anime, so items featured on the manga will just go over my head. Anyways, enjoy!

... or try to.

Kuchiki Rukia lay still on her spacious bed, letting her heavy comforter shroud her petite frame from the evils of the night. Staring idly at the patterned ceiling, her amethyst eyes drooped, fighting to stay awake. In an effort to fight the drowsiness, she listlessly hummed a tune to herself. It was a short ballad that she unconsciously picked up from her days in Rukongai, a little melody that always brought a bittersweet, nostalgic feeling to her. She was tired, oh so tired, but the darkness was the only time period in the day that she could freely roam about with no restrictions. Peace had finally ascended both Soul Society and Earth, and Rukia's boredom only intensified as the uneventful days merged into weeks. She occasionally stayed with Ichigo and Kon, where she could always be entertained by Kon's perverse actions and Ichigo's humorous attempts at avoiding his father, but for the main part she could be located in the large Kuchiki residence, blankly staring at walls and having one-sided conversations with her older brother, Byakuya.

She needed another hobby besides practicing her questionable artistic skills, and nothing looked all that compromising. What else do you do when you're a Shinigami? Go do paperwork? Ha, as if. So, every night, at exactly 2:00 A.M. (courtesy of Rukia's ultra cool 'Chappy the Bunny' wristwatch that glows in the dark and comes in three different colors), she takes short strolls around the manor, exploring every nook and cranny, occasionally finding pleasant surprises, and other times, not-so-nice surprises...

Imagine her mortification when she stumbled in the kitchen and disrupted the Cook's and the Gardener's activities. Yes, it was a disturbing image that scarred her to some degree, and to this day, she made sure to wash her apples _twice_.

"It's about time..." she murmured softly, peeking at her ũber awesome 'Chappy the Bunny' wristwatch that glows in the dark and comes in three different colors.

**...1:57 A.M.**

Rukia sighed, impatiently tapping her fingernails against the green numbers, willing it to morph into 2:00. She waited. And... waited. _And waited._ But those three minutes... never came. (insert dramatic music here) Chappy's battery had run out.

* * *

_The Next Morning._

Yellow rays of sunshine filtered through Rukia's open window and splayed onto her face, instantly irritating her slumber. After all, it can be quite difficult to ignore a hot beam of light that's concentrating on your eyeball. Huffily, she closed her blinds and glanced at her wristwatch.

**1:57****A.M.**

_'I knew I should have invested in longer lasting batteries.'_ she thought to herself tearily. _'But, alas, Ichigo is a cheap skate.'_

Due to her malfunctioning clock, she didn't dare risk a walk yesterday in fear of being discovered, or like that one time, discovering. As a consequence, she had gone to bed like the good girl she wasn't, and still, sleep evaded her. The few precious moments of shut eye that she _did_ get was plagued by dreams of the pink Energizer Bunny from the American commercials chasing after her.

A light knock from the door interrupted her ramblings.

"Yes?"

One of the servants of the House of Kuchiki shyly entered, demure enough to lower her eyes. "Um, ah.. that is, breakfast is ready... if madam would freshen up to dine with her brother?" She finished her sentence with a bow.

Rukia struggled to control a half chuckle/growl. _'Her meekness is entertaining. But, "madam?" How old do you _think _I am, bub?'_

She was no doubt older than the average human, but still, she considered herself a noobie compared to other Shinigamis.

"Madam...?" the girl asked worriedly after seeing Rukia's brow furrow in what looked like anger.

_'Agh. I can't scare go scaring off faculty again. That's why none of the staff wants to willingly associate with me.'_ Rukia flashed the girl an innocent and exuberant grin.

"Please, don't bother with formalities, it reminds me of my brother too much. We have to get rid of his influences somehow, nay?"  
( **A/N**: yes, I am purposely using Old-English here... :D )

The servant apologized profusely. "Gomenasai... I didn't mean to, I just wanted to express my utmost and devoted respect to you, Rukia Sama- I mean, Rukia San."

"What is your name?" she asked the girl blatantly.

"Kana, if you wish."

"Well, Kana San, it's nice to meet you. Would you be kind enough to inform Byakuya Sama that I will meet him for breakfast in just a few minutes?"

"Of course, Rukia San."

"Arigatou gozaimasu ."

Kana once again gave a courteous bow, walking away as fast as her two feet would allow her. The rumors were true, then: Rukia Kuchiki was obviously schizophrenic.

* * *

Voíla! Chapter one is done. I really honestly hope that it wasn't too bad that it made you want to stick a finger in your eye and go blind rather than read another letter, but in any case, I would appreciate some input. Thank you so much for spending time to read this, and I hope you stick around for later chapters. I fully understand if you can't review [ahem, if you're on your PSP or whatnot, so I won't be a review nazi. However, just know that your comments make my day. 

**Japanese words used in this chapter:**

--Gomenasai; Sorry.

--Shinigami; Death God.

--Arigatou Gozaimasu; A formal thank you.

And yes, the storyline **will** pick up(:


End file.
